Spaghetti Carbonara 101

As you all might have know by now, I am a pasta lover. I had been cooking pasta at home for some time but the sauce was all out from the can. So finally I had decided to make the sauce myself. Went online and search for the recipe for Carbonara and seemed like it's not that hard to do. The main ingredient for the sauce would be eggs and Parmesan cheese. So here's the list of ingredients for my recipe. 

• 4 slices of streaky bacon
• 2 eggs (depending on serving)
• Whipping Cream (optional as this is to make the sauce more creamier)
• Parmesan Cheese
• Shitake or Swiss Brown Mushroom (but I prefer the first)
• 1 Onion (chopped)
• 1 Clove of Garlic (minced)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• Black Pepper 
• Spaghetti (in my case Linguine) 

I made the sauce first since it's very simple to do. Beat the two eggs in a bowl and add in Parmesan cheese in it. You can also add in the cream at this point if you want to make it creamier. Be generous on the Parmesan cheese although I know it's not cheap but you will love the out come of it later on. 

At this point, you can boiled the water and add in the linguine. It takes about the same time as the ingredients to get ready so you can do them side by side. Add in some salt in it to make it sauteed. Remember to stir it from time to time to make it evenly submerged in the boiling water. It's better if you have a deeper bowl to cook it so it's more evenly cook. You can drain the pasta now but remember, DO NOT RINSE WITH WATER. This is very important. I like my pasta to be al-dente so it will be pour in to the pan right after it's drain. 

As I am doing bacon, I will first heat the pan up and add in the olive oil and put in the bacon streaks. It's very fast to cook so remember not to over cook it. Bring it up to a plate and now you can start the second stage which is throwing in the minced garlic and onions. You can add in the shitake at this point too. Add in some stock from the pasta. Always remember it's very crucial to add in stock from the sauteed pasta and not plain water. At this point the ingredient will stop cooking. Pour in the pasta and mix it with the ingredients. Toss it around and you can add in black pepper at this point. Close the stove and pour in your Carbonara sauce. Let the heat from the pan slowly cook the pasta. You can add in more Parmesan cheese and cream to make it as creamy as you wish. Add in salt and pepper to taste. 

Next serve it in a big white plate. The plate is very important, hence I purposely drove all the way to IKEA to get them. As they said, presentation is everything. Sliced the bacon and put it on top. Add in more Parmesan cheese to it and give it some more pepper. I didn't managed to get Parsley for my pasta but you can add that to give some color to it. This is my 3rd trial and it was perfect. Sauce was to taste and the additional bacon totally boost the whole dish. Point to remember, be generous with the olive oil as it's very good for your health. Use only Parmesan cheese and not cheddar. It's NOT THE SAME. I know it's not cheap, but heck, it's for your own dinner so why holding back? Do not keep the dish for too long as the pasta will dry up because of the sauce. So it's best to consume it right after it's serve.